Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Win as a team

Today begins with a thank you. There are too many people to thank you all by name individually, but I want to start with a few thank yous and move on to some great take-aways from this past weekend.

As many of you know, this past Saturday Matt Young and I rode our bikes from Edmonton, AB to Calgary, AB in 1 day to raise money for a friend battling cancer for the second time. I won't go into all the details - if you haven't read the back story read more here (http://www.airdriecityview.com/pdf_pages/July03/ACV01A05P.pdf)

Obviously a big thanks goes out to Matt who, busy as he is just says "I'm in" at first notice of the event, and stepped up to 335km with 2 months notice (obviously cancer isn't considerate of schedules). Likewise, Kaitlyn Van Mastrigt, Anna Prokiw, and Dale Sutherland Graciously offered their weekend, especially all day Saturday, to serve as race support. They did a great job and without their support I'd be in a ditch near Blackfalds, AB.

In order for me to be there I needed a team starting with my wife who very quickly had to adjust to me putting in 10+ hours a week on the bike while she took care of our son. Our team here at the Innovative Health Group was also a huge help from massage to physio to chiro to yoga to our fitness strainers - I needed all their help to show up in 1 piece and in shape for the event.

I'm not sure if I can call this the toughest event I've ever done. One of, but it was one of the most rewarding for a number of reasons...

- It was the first event I've done 1 on 1 with Matt, despite 5 and a half years of being involved in the same culture and many of the same destinations- It was another goal off of the before I die list checked off- I saw a ton of support from 2 key coaches in our business, plus even some lateral accountability when I 'had my moments' (read: bonked)- It felt good to be able to make even a small difference in the life of someone who has more than their share of adversity thrust on them at an early age (22).- It is always a great feeling to be surrounded by like-minded people. When you are in the Innovative culture you are often surrounded by so many people championing great challenges and great causes, sometimes defining your own legacy can be challenging. It was a great feeling to be bringing this to the table and seeing the event grow from there.- The kind words, thoughts, emails, messages, donations, calls, seeing my team at the finish... are memories I'll have forever- Seeing the big picture about how much we are really in control of our lives - how this event was another step in creating exactly the life I want.

- How much team really helps. I'd anticipated 14 - 15 hours to complete this event. With Matt there to encourage, 2 support vehicles instead of 1 (which I'd originally planned) so we could draft behind one, and a capable team who handled a flat tire in about 5 minutes plus who even filled my water at every stop - I exceeded the plan by 3 - 4 hours. In retrospect, without them, I would have been home at midnight.- How instead of asking if it's okay for some people to do more - the right people are eager to take on more and this is how we won on Saturday.

I am lucky to be surrounded by the right kind of people who want to step up,I am lucky to be surrounded by the kind of people who've been there before & can offer insight,and I am lucky to be in a position to help others due to my good fortune.

We ALL have a team by our side already, or can choose to be the right kind of teammate and earn our way on to a championship team.

I get to ask myself where I am headed, and who is coming along with - and right now, I love the answer because of the team in my life.

Where are you headed, who's helping you get there, and who are you helping to lead?